Pre-game notes for Monday

Hey everyone. This is Curtis Pashelka from the Bay Area News Group filling in for Andy, who is taking a well-deserved day off. Just a few notes from the ballpark, which promises to be an emotional place later tonight as the Giants honor Sue Burns, who passed away July 19. The team had a private memorial service for Burns at the park earlier this afternoon, which was attended by nearly everyone with the club.

The team brought up infielder Jesus Guzman and infielder/outfielder Eugenio Velez and optioned John Bowker and infielder Matt Downs to Triple-A Fresno. Manager Bruce Bochy is hoping both players can spark on offense that managed just 23 runs on the 10-game road trip. Both players are in the lineup tonight should help considering the amount of lefties the Giants will face this week against the Pirates and Phillies.

“At this point, we need to make a move to see if we can speed this up a little bit as far as getting this offense going,” Bochy said.

Outfielder Aaron Rowand said that the MRI he had Monday on his right forearm revealed a slight tear. He said he’ll be unable to throw for a couple of days but will be available to pinch hit. And as I type this, Rowand just finished taking a few swings in batting practice and looked fairly normal. Bochy said it could be 4-5 days before Rowand, who is taking anti-inflammatories, is able to play defense again.

No update was available on Randy Johnson. Bochy said he and Johnson will get together with Dr. Akizuki near game time to discuss the MRI, which Johnson was scheduled to have today. Hopefully we’ll have an update in the next couple of hours, or we may have to wait until after the game.

Andrew Baggarly

Andrew Baggarly has documented the most eventful era in San Francisco Giants baseball history, having covered the team since 2004 for th​ree major media outlets including the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune​. This is his 20th season as a baseball writer.
​Baggarly is the author of the bestselling book, A Band of Misfits: Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants, and the newly published Giant Splash: Bondsian Blasts, World Series Parades and Other Thrilling Moments By the Bay. Baggarly’s other notable life accomplishments include running as the Bratwurst in the Milwaukee Sausage Race and becoming a three-time Jeopardy! champion.